The ReturnBionicle Legacies: Book 1 Prologue The Mata Nuian sun crept slowly beneath the horizon on the final day of the Great Matoran Civilization. Only a few hours earlier, a great battle swept through the Matoran’s universe. It wiped out almost every sign that there had ever been a people that inhabited the caves. But some relics remained, such as two Toa who had once broken up their team in a war of words, but now were together as more than friends. These Toa, their elements Ice and Fire, had barely survived that final battle. The Toa of Ice, one of the few females of the element, stood overlooking her childhood home. The bitterly cold wind of Ko-Wahi reflected her mood. She stood at a place that her ancestor, the mighty Toa Kopaka once favored, for it overlooked not just a small settlement but most of the island of Mata-Nui. She imagined him meeting with his friend and wife, Toa Gali, and the two of them watching over their island home. They had both died early in the war that had destroyed what they had worked so hard to save. The deeds of Gali and Kopaka lived only through the Toa of Ice. Hearing the soft pattern of quiet, yet shaky footsteps behind her, she turned and saw the other surviving Toa, her friend the Toa of Fire. He had been there when Metru-Nui fell to the dark forces that wiped out the civilization. He had known what atrocities the rebels could and would have committed, and yet he still had joined them. It was him and two other Toa that had warned the Ice Toa's group of the final attack on the Northern Continent. Even with that warning, all on that landmass except him and her died brutal deaths. Though neither of them was alive for the start of the long war, both knew its history. A Matoran of Stone named Ahkmou had openly rebelled against the traditions and peace. Before he could be subdued, hundreds of beings stood with him against the ones who were attempting to stop him. That was when the first act of war happened. No one ever realized who began the violence, but to both sides, it didn't matter. The once war-some Skakdi had turned to peace only two or three generations before. Their kings turned back into Warlords, their most peaceful subjects being executed publicly to ensure peace wouldn’t return. The Vortixx, were the only ones who seemed to stay on the sidelines, but even they were involved, producing weapons for both sides. Order in the universe was no more. “Good evening, Kolana.” The Fire Toa spoke a moment after reaching her. Their eyes met briefly before the Ice Toa looked away. She sobbed, still grieving for her dead friends and family. The fear she felt for herself and her friend was overwhelming, for she knew that they would be alone for a long time. “Takano…” She spoke when she regained control. He stepped over and embraced her, knowing that she needed him more than ever. He let a single tear escape from one of his eyes as he held her, trying to calm her. “It’s alright.” He comforted. They stood there for a few moments before finally separating. He looked into her sky blue eyes, and saw the love for those she had lost. She looked back, and saw something that surprised her, a pain that came from his love for her. They stood there for a few moments before Takano finally spoke. “You know what we are to do.” He said. Scared for what was to come, he looked away from his friend. “We have to, if we are to preserve our kind.” She spoke strongly, determined not to break down again. “The Organics are already starting a new civilization to the southeast. We both know that they can’t find out that we still exist.” He laughed bitterly. “So we run. We do what other Toa have been doing for centuries.” Sighing, he turned to her, and continued, “I don’t mean we shouldn’t. I just think that it’s ironic that we, the last of our kind, are following the same path that led to our civilization’s destruction.” “I know it’s not what you want. It’s not what I want either. But Mata-Nui has expressed to us through the Red Star that it’s what we have to do. It is our Duty and Destiny.” Kolana gently put her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. “C’mon, it’s getting dark. We need to get to the Sanctuary before the daylight is gone.” He turned to her, and smiled. “Then what are we waiting for?” - - - - - The walk to Ko-Koro was a near-silent march. They were almost to the village when Kolana suddenly stopped their movement. She turned to Takano, scared to say what she felt she needed to. Takano looked at her puzzled, and she felt a wave of cold nervousness flow through her. “Why’d we stop, Kolana?” He asked quietly. “Is something wrong?” “No, nothing’s wrong.” She bit her lip, frightened at how he might take what she had to say. “Takano?” The Toa of Ice said after another minute, regaining the other’s attention. “Ye--" He was stopped mid-sentence by Kolana abruptly putting her arms around him, and her lips to his in a warm, but calm kiss. Takano gently returned the kiss, and they embraced each other for a moment before pulling apart. “I love you Takano.” She said softly as she stepped away from him. “I don’t doubt it, Kolana, my love.” She gasped as he smiled. “I guess I just didn’t expect you to say anything.” “I didn’t either. But if I am to survive what we must do, I had to tell you.” She replied. “We need to get to the village now though. It’s just over the next hill.” He grabbed her hand and as they walked the short distance to the top of the hill, they forgot about their pains for a while. But, as it always is, it was too short a distance, and too short of a break. The hill had been hiding one of the last strongholds and battlefields of the war. Kolana nearly collapsed with grief as she looked upon her ruined village. Though she had been living upon the Northern Continent, she still called the small village of Ko-Koro home. It pained her severely to see the broken bodies of the guards, and the shattered remains of the gates. They kept walking, even with Kolana’s weakness, and were soon near the center of the Koro. She looked around, memories of her friends and elders rushing through her. She had known almost everyone in the village personally, and those she didn’t know well, she still recognized. Most had gone to fight in the war when they came of age, and almost all of them died in their early battles. Ko-Koro had always been a place for studying, whether it was the stars, the histories, or the prophecies, they were not prepared to fight in a war. Kolana was one of the few that had survived her first trials at war, and as such was tested with the small cache of Toa Stones that the leaders of the matoran had. She, Takano, and five others became Toa that day. Their seventh team member was killed during their first battle as Toa, which deeply divided the team. She remembered him well, a fellow Toa of Ice. He had been different from the first time they met in Ko-Koro before they were recruited. He had grown up in Le-Wahi before his parents died in a small battle near the southern peninsula, and had the personality of a Le-Matoran. He was Kolana’s first love. Thinking about him brought fresh tears to her eyes, and she wished that he was there with her now, just for his strength in adversity. As they reached the Sanctuary complex, Kolana thought about the tales of the first generation of peace on Mata-Nui. She thought about the young children running across the slippery ground, often falling, and bursting into laughter. Even Nuju would laugh at their antics. Looking up at the once grand, but now tarnished Sancutary, Kolana remembered the first time she had gone in. Kopaka’s mask had once hung over the doorway, an emblem of his quest to watch over and protect the Matoran. As she stepped inside, she looked up to where the ice skylight once capped the rotunda of the Sanctuary. Snow had begun to gently fall outside, and some was coming in through the hole. She hadn’t realized how damaged the appearance of the building had become. The ice sculptures that had been there for generations were shattered on the floor, and the ancient carvings of Turaga Nuju had been vandalized to the point of no longer having the ability to be read. They moved deeper and deeper, and as they did so, Kolana became more and more saddened at what had become of her main place of studies before becoming a Toa. After finding their way through the ruins, they at last arrived in the place they were going. It was a simple room, only holding the transports that Kopaka and the other Toa Mata had arrived on Mata-Nui in. They somehow had escaped the sacking of Ko-Koro without any sign of attack. Takano paused in the entrance as Kolana walked over to the transport that had been used by Kopaka. It had a simple snowflake design carved into the side. When she touched the marking, it began to faintly glow with a blue the color of her eyes. She let another sob escape from her, as she looked at the snowflake. The Toa of Fire walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “You were thinking about him again, weren’t you?” He asked softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. She nodded. “I just wish he was here. He’d be so happy for us.” Kolana swallowed her tears, knowing that they were going to be saying good-bye soon. She looked up through the open roof, and saw the moon coming out from behind a cloud, the beauty of it not lost on the Toa. “It’s nice isn’t it, Kolana--A great night for leaving our pasts behind.” He sighed, figuring that she was ready to leave. Takano grasped her hand, and they walked to the transport that Tahu had used all those millennia ago. “Good luck, my Friend. May Mata Nui protect you.” They shared one last quick kiss, before Kolana stepped back to her ancestor’s transport. As she climbed in, she looked one last time at her surroundings, and wondered if she would ever return to her home. Taking a deep breath, she lowered the hatch, and as all went dark remembered her dead friend.____________ Author's Notes: First, I would like to say how good it is to be back to BZPower's Library. Now I'd like to give some background on this story. This is the rewritten prologue to my first and only completed Epic on the old BZPower forums. I've been working on it since the forums went offline, and am glad to finally feel like the prologue is ready for posting. This project marks the five year anniversary of the posting of the original prologue, even though that version was posted back in July of 2006. I will try to post chapters as I complete them, but the process of redoing an epic is pretty intense, so I can't make any promises about the completion of this project. The main reason for the rewrite is simply that I want to reuse the plot of The Return and use my better writing style and the understanding of both Bionicle's universe, and my Bionicle Legacies universe. as you read this prologue, you might have noticed that I have added, when compared with the old one, I have added a dead love intrest for Kolana. He will be introduced more in a Short Story/Short Epic that I have also began work on. Don't forget to Review

Chapter 1Tyler Mirado and one of his best friends Cory Joel were having fun playing the Lego Universe Online game that Tyler had received earlier in the day for his 17th birthday. He was fighting the Maelstrom, and collecting various pieces, when his Minifigure named Tyeran was smashed for the tenth time that hour. He was about to rebuild when his Mom called up to him that it was time for Cory to head home.Tyler reluctantly said bye to his friend, before remembering an event that had happened on his birthday for as long as he could remember. He hurried and logged out of Lego Universe, and ran to his second floor window. Looking up at the sky, he saw what he expected to. Two meteor-like streaks were making their way across the sky—One red. The other white.As he turned away from the window, he heard a faint whistling sound. It was the type of sound you would expect to hear a falling bomb make, but this was no bomb. Tyler hesitated before looking back out his window. He had read plenty of stories about meteorites falling from the sky and injuring people, but something inside of him told him that this was no meteorite either.Perhaps if he had ignored the whistling his life would have remained relatively normal, but he didn’t ignore it, he looked.What he saw was not terribly different from what he had seen just a moment prior. What was different was the two streaks in the sky had become two brightening star-like shapes against the darkening backdrop of late evening. He slowly backed away from his window, before reality finally shook him out of his fearful trance. He ran to his door, and fumbled with the doorknob. By the time he had finally gotten the doorknob to work though, it was too late. A bright flash and loud boom caused him to fall to the ground.The boy sat up, and glanced around. He heard someone hurrying up the stairs, a frantic run of someone afraid of what they were about to find. As his father came around the corner, Tyler stood.“Is everyone okay?” Tyler asked his frantic father.“Yes, but something big is going on outside.” His dad sighed. “Something your mother and I had hoped would never happen.”“Dad? What do you mean?”“I can't explain right now, but we have to get outside.”Tyler followed his father down the stairs, and as he passed his birthday presents, he saw something similar to what he had seen immediately before the explosion--a 2001 Bionicle canister. He grabbed it as he hurried out the door, followed by his sister, and walked straight into a scene from a Science-Fiction movie.The large tree in front of the neighbor across the street from the Mirado's home was partially uprooted and missing most of its leaves. Some of the cars parked on the street were missing windows, and alarms were going off for a few blocks surrounding the blast. In the center of the street though was the worst of the damage, and what Tyler saw would change his life permanently. Lying in the buckled crater that had once been the road was a pair of ten-foot-tall canisters. One end of both was domed while the other was obscured by steam and smoke. As Tyler held up the Bionicle canister he had grabbed, he knew somehow what he was looking at. He just didn't know what the transports were carrying.He glanced around at the crowd that was starting to gather, and observed that some held their cell phones to their ears, while others had video cameras and were recording the scene. The boy was conflicted with what he should do, since he appeared to be the only one who knew what was in front of him. He almost turned around and went back inside, thinking that he was dreaming and had fallen asleep playing Lego Universe, but as he started to turn his head, he heard a sharp hiss. Buried inside the sound was a quiet but powerful voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once.It is time for the Return...Tyler looked back towards the canisters and watched as the domed end started to open, releasing a giant cloud of steam. Some screamed, some nearly fainted, but all couldn't take their eyes off of the event unfolding in front of them. As the steam cleared, a pair of heavily armored semi-robotic beings appeared. One, who was clad in white, held a glowing bow, that seemed to be made of ice and for some reason wasn't melting in the hot summer air. The other, who was covered in a crimson armor, wielded a sword with flames dancing along its blade.Seeing the beings with weapons drawn, the crowd started to back away, but Tyler stepped forward a few steps before his mother screamed. Though he wasn’t old enough to remember the original Bionicle sets, he recognized the faces of the warriors as variants on the Kanohi of Kopaka and Tahu.“It can’t be…” He whispered to himself. “Toa Tahu?”- - - - -Takano had already been on edge as he’d exited the transport, but when he saw the seemingly organic creatures standing around through the steam and smoke, he ignited his sword. He remembered the strife that the organics had caused his people when they started appearing--and the confusion when they called themselves Av-Matoran.Kolana saw Takano wielding his sword, and was, for a moment, conflicted as to whether she should prepare her bow before they became completely visible through the smoke. She decided to prevent her possible death, and readied her bow. As she did, the smoke was cleared by a gust of wind. When the crowd saw the two Toa’s weapons, they gasped and stepped back, some of them running away in a panicked haze. One of the younger male organic beings had stepped forward as the crowd had started to back away. An older female screamed as he took a few more steps toward the pair.Stopping, he looked at the beings with a recognition that Kolana didn’t expect, and muttered something inaudible to himself. He looked at Takano, and spoke softly, his unsure voice quivering. “Toa Tahu?”Takano looked directly at the organic and spoke with a ferocity that scared even Kolana. “Who are you? How do you know of my ancestor?”As he said this, the organic opened the canister he was carrying, and pulled out a miniature of Tahu. The Toa of Fire looked at the odd carving of his great grandfather with confusion. Glancing over at Kolana, he was surprised to see her conversing with an even younger organic. Is she crazy? He thought to himself. As the younger of the two organics finished talking to the Toa of Ice, the older one finally spoke.“I am Tyler Mirado. I meant no disrespect, Toa.” As he was speaking, a female around his age had walked up beside him.“What do you mean by ancestor?” She asked hesitantly. “Tahu is a fictional character.”“How dare you call one of Mata-Nui’s greatest warriors fictional?!” Takano said, his anger at the organics intensifying.“We don’t mean any harm, Toa.” She spoke quickly, fearing for her life.“Takano, relax.” Kolana said calmly, knowing that his fury was reaching a boiling point. “They are carrying no weapons, and I don’t sense any elemental powers. We are safe with them, for now at least.”It was at that moment that the Toa of Fire heard the faint sound of a whining siren.- - - - -Tyler heard the footsteps behind him, and knew exactly who was walking up before she said anything. Emma Brooks was one of Tyler’s only other friends at his small town’s school, though he wished that she was more than just a friend. What she was doing was a mystery to him, and he was both frightened for her, and glad she was there to support him.He looked from the Toa to his friend who had walked up next to him. “Are you all right?” He spoke quietly, seeing the fear in her eyes.“Yeah.” She replied before looking at him. “We need to get them somewhere safe. I can hear sirens nearby and I don’t think it will turn out well if the police find the Toa.”“You’re right.” He turned back to the Toa, who were conversing with each other as well. “Toa, we need you to come with us. Others are coming who might not be as friendly to you as us.”“I was just thinking the same thing.” The Toa of Ice said. “I sense something dark coming, and I don’t think it’s something that either of us want to deal with quite yet.”